Harold Dieterle’s Kin Shop is “every bit as good” as his first project, Perilla, says Robert Sietsema. He raves, “As I sat gazing down at my squid ink soup ($10) one evening, I felt like Philip Marlowe before he passed out from a blow to the head in Murder, My Sweet: ‘A black hole opened up at my feet. I fell in.’” [VV]
Related: Platt on Kin Shop and Bar Basque; Do Restaurant Health Grades Matter?

Jay Cheshes offers more measured praise for Dieterle, writing that “while there are certainly standouts among the chef’s auteur creations, the traditional fare often seems extraneous.” However, “he’s worth following when he veers off-trail and cooks from imagination rather than memory.” [TONY]

Atlantic Grill Lincoln Center is, according to Steve Cuozzo, “exactly what the thriving Lincoln Square area needed: a non-touristy, value-for-money eatery equally appealing to locals and the hordes flocking to Lincoln Center and the new Apple store.” Next, Cuozzo returns to the Millennium Hilton’s Church & Dey, which serves “quite respectable American food” and overlooks the World Trade Center. He writes, “There’s decent salmon and chicken, too, but the real feast is for your eyes.” [NYP]

Lincoln “should become the destination restaurant it’s meant to be,” says Ryan Sutton. “The food has a long way to go, but the digs are really nice.” While the menu mostly disappointed this time, standouts like the nutty cod and lobster raviolo “promise the kind of first-rate experience that only Lincoln’s prices now suggest.” [Bloomberg]
Related: Platt Finds Lincoln Lacking; Totes for All

Ciano is, in Gael Greene’s words, “like a wild child prodigy, fitfully clever with the genes for possible brilliance.” Though the service is slow and and the kitchen isn’t perfect, she writes, “I’m exhilarated by the discovery of this lush, exuberant food — Shea Gallante cooking Italian with so much bravura.” [Insatiable Critic]